The Lahore High Court (LHC) Wednesday restored Gujrat division and four other districts formed by the previous Pervaiz Elahi-led government in Punjab and annulled the current caretaker government’s move to suspend the notification regarding their formation, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The Punjab government and the election commission opposed the LHC’s annulment of the suspension of the notification, but they could not satisfy the court with their arguments during the hearing of the petition.
LHC judge Justice Shahid Karim accepted the pleas of Akhlaq Haider Chattha and others. Tipu Suleiman Makhdoom, Muhammad Akbar Baba Advocate and other lawyers appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioners.
“Funds for the new division and districts are not available at present. The notification was suspended due to the lack of funds,” the Punjab government’s lawyer told the court.
“The case should be sent to us. We will decide after listening to the parties,” lawyer for the election commission said.
“You have a supervisory role that you are not performing,” the LHC judge said in reply.
The petitioner’s lawyer told the court that Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on October 14, 2022, had issued a notification regarding the formation Gujarat division and other new districts.
“The caretaker government suspended the notification on February 15, 2023. The caretaker government has no power to change the decision of the elected Government,” he added.
Reporter: Malik Ashraf